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{
"id": 1267922,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1267922/?format=api",
"text_counter": 137,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "As we look at this Bill, one thing that was also lacking that perhaps Sen. Mumma should look at, as she will be working on this Bill, is in the context of stress areas that the Ministry will look at. It is the idea that both ministerial decisions as well as county government decisions must be reliant on the issue of data. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I remember, when we retreated with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to talk about the issue of data sovereignty of this country, one of the biggest issues that came up was that, we do not even have infrastructure as a country to own our data. This Bill gives an opportunity for the Mover together with other Senators, to think critically on how to put a framework to ensure that our State statistical bodies can ensure that decisions with regard to SDGs are following data. As things stand now, as a country, we are still relying on the national financial institutions and private research institutes to rethink data with regard to SDGs. This needs to be looked at very critically. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also wanted to see an elaborate framework on the issue of stability in this Bill. Like many African countries with democracy, sometimes we tend to experience some kind of civil unrest or protests before or after an election. We are not in a war situation, as we have seen in other countries that have been very demeaning to SDGs. That notwithstanding, we are a country that experiences a sense of instability before, during and after elections. I want to see a framework that can be put into this Bill to look at how stability contributes to SDGs implementation. You can imagine industrial, innovation and infrastructure development as well as just building more progressive cities under the SDGs that require sustainable development in urban areas. Nairobi City, for instance, is a mega and prime City in the entire African Continent. How do we envision this kind of Bill making a progressive development that instability does not affect the implementation of SDGs in this country? I would want us to see how we can include this in the Bill. Lastly, I invite the Mover of the Motion, my good friend, Sen. Mumma, to also think about the rapid population growth that we are experiencing. This is because when these goals were put in place, some countries such as Kenya, in Africa, experience exponential population growth that do not necessarily go with the timelines given by these SDGs. For our neighbours in Uganda, 50 per cent of the country is almost 15 years of age. Today, the average age of a Kenyan is about 19.5 years. Therefore, we have a country that is extremely young, but the population keeps on growing very fast that sometimes the timeline given for these SDGs does not meet the place of change with regard to development factors that are indicated in the SDGs that we are seeing here. Of course, if the SDGs are anything to go by, they are about improving the human development index or the dignity of the people. It is about the people and to some extent, animals and the planet at large, but the core functionality is the people. Therefore, there should be a framework that can assess, address and keep up with the population growth matrix of our country. I hope that this can be looked at even at the county level because different counties have different population growth matrices. This will be a very important element in this Bill, to the extent that it can guide the relevant Ministry that will be dealing with these SDGs in the context of making sure The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}